Wednesday September 24, 2008 | 10 comments
I regularly taste a lot of different teas, and I always do my tasting in the morning before I have altered my palate with other food or beverages. The downside of this is that I am tasting teas for several hours on an empty stomach. The result being one of the most interesting side effects of this process: I get tea drunk. I get this heady feeling and when moving from one counter to another, my gait even gets a bit wobbly. I almost have to sit down because of the fleeting thought that I may just tip over. I guess that’s where the term tipsy comes from.
Phyll Sheng has written about his experience with this in a previous post, but I wanted to revisit it again and delve a bit deeper. Although, while it is occurring, I am able to just enjoy the full experience, sometime afterwards, my curious science mind kicks in and wants to know, what exactly is tea drunk? What causes it? I’m very curious about this phenomenon and would like to hear your thoughts and personal experiences with it.
I find that, for the most part, I get tea drunk when tasting a lot of oolong or pu’erh, but not much else. What is it about these types of tea that causes my body to react in this way? Is it just the cha qi? Is that enough to account for this physiological effect? Doesn’t all tea (or at least all fresh tea) have qi? For that matter, doesn’t everything have qi? Why, then, do I get tea drunk only with these two teas but don’t have any similar type experience when I drink a fresh fruit/veggie smoothie that also is laden with good qi? What is the difference?
There are several factors that I have been considering that I will lay out for your consideration:
1. Cha Qi – I’ve already addressed this somewhat, but I do believe that everything has a vital force or qi associated with it. Does the particular vital energy of Camellia sinensis coupled with certain processing methods create an energy profile that is unique to certain teas?
2. Slurping – Since I do a lot of repetitive slurping when I am tasting, which causes me to hold my breath so
as not to inhale the tea, I have to wonder if reduced oxygen to the brain might have an effect.
3. Sniffing
a. I also do a lot of aerobic sniffing to assess the different aromas of the teas, which makes me take in a lot more oxygen rapidly. I wonder if this, psuedo hyperventilation may be the cause of some of those effects.
b. The detection and perception of scents, plays a powerful role in the evolution of species. Is it possible that the aroma of some teas (as does the consumption of some) trigger a relaxation effect that with consecutive repetitive exposures, becomes powerful enough to cause you to want to sit down?
4. Theaflavins and Thearubigins – These 2 compounds are found exclusively in oxidized teas. Might one or both of these compounds create a physiological effect that causes the sensations often experienced with being tea drunk?
5. All of the above – Might there be a synergistic effect related to the energy of the tea combined with certain processing methods, the inherent compounds, the tasting procedure, the mindset of the tea drinker and the environment where this occurs?
Please share your thoughts and experiences.
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Aerobic sniffing! A new exercise! Yea!
I’ve known Sandy for over 40 years. If I hadn’t been witnessing this phenomenon in person, I would have sworn he was whoozy from alcohol. Truth is I can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen him tipsy, but this is indeed a fascinating experience.
Great post! I think every tea drinker/addict can relate ;) Maybe someday tea drinkers will be the subjects of a behavioral study with electrode probes attached, and scientists sitting around with laptops documenting the phenomenon. And the image of your tea setup looks pretty close to a lab bench already. Cheers!
I don’t recall ever being tea drunk, though there have been nights where I found myself floating several feet above the bed, wondering if sleep would ever come. As for drinking first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, as you describe it, I’d be tea sick for sure. One point not addressed above is the caffeine in tea, which seems like a possible factor contributing to the drunken state.
Bill – I didn’t bring up caffeine because, at least for me, caffeine has a very distinct effect that is very obvious and very different than what I experience when tea drunk. I assume that is true for everyone else as well, but that could be a mistake to make that assumption.
I also get tea-drunk, usually off green tea (only because thats usually the tea I drink). I also get coffee-drunk, which I always attributed to the caffeine, but the tea-drunk comes even when I am drinking decaf. I have never felt soda-drunk, even though soda contains more caffeine than my decaf tea, so I’m starting to think thats not it.
Perhaps the theanine content is also a factor.
is it possible for it all to be just the increase of qi in the body from consumption of the tea. I mean qi is the substance of life yes? so if increased to a certain point in ones self then does it not stand to reason that one could recognize it in other things. if so then this heightened awareness might make one drunk. Do to this increased awareness / flow of qi and the perception that it is all around may provide an addiction quality to this drunkenness that might some day be studied and pronounced as an addiction to life,. no?
Interesting thought William. I would still wonder why the consumption of other qi laden substances wouldn’t create a similar addiction. Why just tea?
I do like the idea of a qi addiction though. If you’re going to be addicted to something, what better substance than qi?
BTW, any chance you used to be a famous psychologist in a past life?
ahhhh but cha — qi — could it be as strong as others or is it stronger?
and if it is then………… but if not then what would be stronger in method, and ability to give the same result? would you prefur a short answer from the periodic table or one of legend.
i prefur legend and its ability to explain qi.
know any good stories.